You see, there ARE good things that can come from internet message boards. Just when you think you've had enough of trolls, a moment like this happens. Brad, I had never in my previous viewings of the film conceived the idea that it was Ron, the Pacific Stereo jerk, that impregnated Stacy, not Mike Damone. You've given us all something to consider. I'm not ready to say it was definitely Ron just yet. I'll have to rewatch the film...I think there may be timing issues with your thesis. And even if it does turn out to be Ron, it doesn't TOTALLY absolve Damone. He still left her in the lurch at her hour of need, too chicken-shit cowardly to even face her. Ok, so he couldn't come up with his share of the money...but at least man up, and drive her there and stay with her so she isn't alone. And OH MY GOD!!! Hamilton, I know EXACTLY that spot off Mulholland Dr. you're talking about! Made out there a few times, myself. Small world.

Enough talk about song licensing and ice cream...it's making me hungry. Back on topic. Regarding your poll, BH, my favourite character on seeing the movie was Jeff Spicoli, and he remained so for most of my life. But now, I find myself liking Mr. Hand the most...Ray Walston is dead-on in the role. By underplaying him perfectly, he is hysterically funny in a way a Rodney Dangerfield-type wouldn't have been. Aloha, Mr. Hand.

Another of my favourite scenes is when the kids come and ask Damone if he has Blue Oyster Cult tickets, and Damone says "No I don't have any Blue Oyster Cult tickets...where were you 3 months ago? I was THIS close to working at 7-11."

Wow, I had no idea Swensen's was still around. Although, if they are still in LA, they're doing a good job of hiding. All the old Swensen's I remember in Santa Monica, Westwood and Hollywood are all gone. Haagen Dazs and Penguins wiped them out. Even when I'm in San Francisco I don't notice any Swensen's. Can't really recall how good they were and where they stand in relation to Haagen Dazs, Baskin-Robbins, Coldstone Creamery, Fosselman's, etc.

^^^ As any screenwriter can tell you, what's on the page and what makes it onto the screen aren't always the same. Swensons, Carl's Jr., All-American Burger...those are all Southern California specific locations. Who knows why they didn't use Swenson's or Carl's, Jr in the film. More location trivia...all the All-American Burgers are gone now. The last one left, on Sunset blvd. near where Hugh Grant got caught with that hooker, finally closed last year. Carls Jr. is still going strong, but Swensons bit the dust long ago in the 90's. Oh, and Ridgemont is a fictional place, but they used the Sherman Oaks Galleria for the interior scenes at the mall. Alas, the Sherman Oaks Galleria, while technically still there, is much different from what it used to be.

Teen-age angst may be universal, but the way it's expressed frequently depends on cultural mores. One reason Quadrophenia isn't hard for an American to understand is that the Mods were a clique that had interests an American could relate to: R & B, scooters, girls and drugs. But lots of American teen flicks of the 70's just didn't travel well across the pond...American Graffiti, Van Nuys Blvd., Hollywood Knights...and the primary reason is the lack of a "cruising" scene. When I was in Europe, the teen-age friends I had didn't see getting a driver's license as a big deal, whereas in America, every kid can't wait til they're 16 and can be FREE! For that is what the car signifies in American culture: freedom. The ability to just pick up and go...go anywhere. Away from your parents. Away from school. Away from work. Away from your worries. That's why so many European cars were ugly, tiny, boxy, utilitarian things, while American cars grew ever fanciful. Cars were often the repositories of our dreams and aspirations. Whereas just about every town in the US had a local car scene, the whole hot-rodding thing didn't exist in Europe. Oh sure, Europeans love their racing, F1, motorcycles, etc., but the idea of going down to the junkyard or used car lot, and buying an old 55 Chevy or 32 Ford or 66 Mustang, and building her up, piece by piece, into a road-chewing beast, is an idea foreign to most non-American cultures. Notice I said most...I'm well aware of the Japanese car scene, and I even met a cat in Heidelberg, who was obsessed with Detroit muscle, and had bought several already and had them shipped overseas. But the American high school rituals of Friday night football games and cruising the strip afterwards and on Saturdays don't exist in most places. That said, and as much as I love "Fast Times...", a couple of things still stick in my craw when I watch the movie. The Point. I realize the San Fernando Valley is not a hotbed of cultural sophistication, but are you telling me The Point was the best place those kids could find to make-out? Hell, I went to high school in Riverside, which was a hick town in the 70's. But even there, we had Make-out Mountain, where you could park and neck with the glittering lights of the Inland Empire below. Or there was the Grove, which was this secluded creek area near an orange grove, where lots of impromptu keggers happened. But to take a girl to some dirty old baseball dugout to score? No matter how much of a sexist, horny wolf I might have been when I was younger, I would NEVER subject a girl to that, virgin or otherwise. What makes it WORSE, the Pacific Stereo dude takes Stacy there! Dude, you got a job and your own place, theoretically...but even if you don't, spring for a motel fer chrissakes. I mean, she gave you her cherry and all you gave her was splinters in her back. Gauche, man...totally gauche.

Silver Rider, the opening scene with Stacy takes place at Perry's Pizza, not an ice cream parlor. And Steve, wasn't it Rock and Roll used in the Cadillac ad, not Black Dog? Ok, enough with the nitpicking... If there's any movie I've seen almost as much as The Song Remains the Same(93 times in the theatre alone), it's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I spent the 70's reading Cameron Crowe's pieces in Rolling Stone and the L.A. Times. I remember reading Fast Times in Rolling Stone, and even have a 1st edition of the book. But I don't think anyone was expecting the impact the movie had...Cameron Crowe(screenplay) and Amy Heckerling(director) were non-entities in Hollywood and the cast was full of young unknowns. The most recognizable faces in the cast were Ray Walston, Nancy Wilson, and Vincent Schiavelli. Of course, the movie's release soon changed that, as almost all the cast members went on to have careers in film, the most prominent being Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh. And Phoebe Cates...oh Phoebe Cates. I don't think there's a man between 40-50 years old that doesn't remember the first time he saw that epic, ICONIC scene at the pool that Steve has kindly posted above. Of course, seeing it on youtube or video is one thing...but Phoebe Cates on a 60-foot screen is the stuff of legends. So many memories tied to this movie...and so many quotable lines. And it's an "American" movie, meaning you really have to be American to get the cultural subtext. I know this because I saw this movie twice with European crowds, one German and the other French, and there weren't as many laughs as you would get with an American audience. Some of the cultural references went over their heads, and that whole world of "high school and malls" was alien to them. But it remains an American comedy classic, and one I hope succeeding generations discover as well. "People on LUDES should not drive." ~ Jeff Spicoli "I hope you had a HELLUVA piss, Arnold!" ~ Brad Hamilton

Wasn't this 1975? Not trying to be a prick...I know this takes a lot of time and effort. Nope...YOU ARE RIGHT! My error...I was thinking the Superdome was their only scheduled New Orleans stop in 1977. I should've known better than to question you, Deborah.

I read and liked the book, or at least "liked" as much you can any book about a difficult subject as the rape and murder of a 14-year old girl. But the way the book is structured, and how the author Alece Sebold handles the characters and the transitions between the corporeal and the ethereal, the book is a more enjoyable and easy read than the plot would lead you to believe. If you are in any way skeptical of religion or the supernatural, the idea of a girl narrating the story from heaven might seem too precious and put you off, and I admit some of the spiritual sentiments come across as new-age mumbo-jumbo, but that didn't detract from the main thrust of the book for me: the affect of a brutal crime on a family and what happens in the aftermath. Alice Sebold had previously written a memoir called "Lucky", about her rape and recovery, but "Lovely Bones" exploded on the scene when it was published. Given its popularity it was only a matter of time before Hollywood tried to adapt it, and I had my doubts whether a film adaptation could work. But when Peter Jackson announed that he was going to direct "Lovely Bones", my hopes improved. After all, "Heavenly Creatures" was brilliant, and if he could pull off that story's mix of murder and fantasy, maybe he could do the same for "Lovely Bones". Alas, when the movie came out, it was a big disappointment to me...it just laid there, and the spiritual, heaven parts were even more cloyingly _ new-agey and goopier than the book. Plus, large sections of the plot were cut or changed, and not for the better. Character motivations often seemed bizarre because of the edits of the plot. The girl, Saoiran, or something like that was okay, I suppose; she was in another "great book turned into lousy movie" adaptation, "Atonement". The sole reason, IMO, for watching Lovely Bones is Stanley Tucci as the killer...he's excellent as always. So yes, this is another case of read the book instead of seeing the movie. Meanwhile, I have spent 24 hours watching time go by. Some of you may be familiar with the artist Christian Marclay, a visual and audio montage specialist. In fact, he's regarded by some as the father of "turntable-ism". Well, LACMA just staged a free screening of his latest work, "The Clock", a 24-hour montage of clips dealing with clocks and the passage of time. It has previously been shown in London last year, and earlier this year in New York. LACMA's screening ran from 11am Monday to 11am today(Tuesday), and I stayed awake for all 24 hours. Id like to say more, but I've gotta get some sleep before going to the Mitch Hedburg tribute tonight at the Steve Allen Theatre. But you can just google Christian Marclay The Clock if you're interested.

"Romans were pussies. He still has His eyes." Meanwhile, I see that "The Troubles" have even infiltrated this thread. Everywhere you go, it's the fookin' Irish! THEY are to blame for Osama...Usama...wouldn't you like to be a Sama, too?

I'm not particularly religious and I hope you don't find me too forward, but I found myself thinking of these lines when reading your post, ebk. The Angels are carrying her home Where the Lord will meet her With a pair of wings

:lol: Yeah, you probably are...although I made a few alterations to my original text...but it's a movie I feel so strongly about that I had to share it with the board. Plus I know there's some gearheads on here that, if they haven't already seen it, should at the very first opportunity.

Do tell...pm me if there's details you'd rather not have out in the open.

One thing I like almost as much as going to concerts, is going to the movies. Plus, it's cheaper going to the movies than it is to concerts, so I tend to see more of them than I can keep up with...I probably average about 150-200 films a year, depending on how good the schedule is in a given year. Here in LA, we have several organizations and venues that devote their programming to old, classic movies or independent, off-beat fare along with periodic retrospectives of stars and directors. One such organization is the American Cinematheque, which has two theatres for their programming: the Aero in Santa Monica and the Egyptian in Hollywood. The Egyptian opened in 1922 and it was run by Sid Grauman, before he left in 1927 to the Chinese Theatre down the block, which is famous for the cement footprints of the stars in the courtyard(cf. the final scene in "Blazing Saddles"). The first film to open at the Egyptian in 1922 was "Robin Hood" with Douglas Fairbanks. Through the decades it changed ownership many times; United Artists was the last corporate owner before it closed in 1992. I saw two premieres at the Egyptian Theatre in the '80's, coincidentally both James Cameron films: "Aliens" in 1986 and "The Abyss" in 1989. The American Cinematheque took it over, restored it to it's original exterior and finally had it's grand reopening in 1998. Right now, they are running two tributes concurrently: one for the recently departed Elizabeth Taylor...they showed "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Cleopatra" earlier this week, and "Giant" is screening this Sunday. The other tribute is for director Monte Hellman, an obscure director from the 60's and 70's who made these wonderful movies, many of them with the underrated actor Warren Oates and a young Jack Nicholson. So for 3 nights(thurs-sat), they have been showing Monte's films, including the premiere of his latest one, "The Road to Nowhere", his first film in 20 years, and Monte will be there all 3 nights for a Q & A. But it's Thursday night's double-bill I want to talk about: "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Ride in the Whirlwind". "Two-Lane Blacktop", from 1971, is one of my all-time favourite "road" movies...heck, movies period. I see it every chance I get on the big screen: 1) because of the wonderful widescreen cinematography; and 2) because it's rarely shown on TV. It's kind of like "Easy Rider", only instead of 2 guys riding cross-country on motorcycles, it's 2 guys racing a 1955 Chevy across the U.S. It's also more existential, with minimal dialogue, and there's long stretches where "nothing" happens. But as Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Seinfeld showed, it's those little "nothing" moments of the day that add up to a world of importance. And here's the real surprise of "TLB"...it stars 2 non-actors; musicians who would never act in a film again, even though they are so wonderful, so natural in this film. They are James Taylor and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. I've always liked the Beach Boys, and being a surfer when I was a young grommet, had a soft spot for the late, great Dennis Wilson, drummer of the Beach Boys and the ONLY surfer in the band. But James Taylor was another matter...when I was younger, I couldn't stand his music; thought he was too bland and wimpy. And I liked plenty of folk and stuff back then...just not James Taylor. So imagine my surprise when I saw "Two-Lane Blacktop" for the first time and saw these two musicians in starring roles...and they were GOOD! In fact, I think it's the coolest thing James Taylor's ever done. The rest of the cast includes the great and hilarious Warren Oates as the driver of the GTO, and in an early bit part as a hitchhiker, Harry Dean Stanton, credited as H.D. Stanton. Then there's Laurie Bird, as "the girl", who was one of those iconic hippie-chicks of the early-70's. The "plot", such as it is, involves James(the driver) and Dennis(the mechanic) going to town to town in their primer-grey '55 Chevy, trying to hustle up a drag-race for cash wherever they go. Along the way, they keep bumping into Warren Oates, who is driving this 1970 G.T.O. across country for some un-named reason; Warren keeps picking up hitchhikers along the way, but he tells a different story to each one. Finally, Warren challenges James and Dennis to a race from Oklahoma to Washington DC for pink slips. But as in most road movies, it's not the race or the destination that's important but the experiences along the way, the people and places seen. The movie takes place in a key point in our history...1970, as the 60's end and people are trying to make sense of the decade just past and what the future portends. All the characters seem haunted by something, like the reason they have to keep on the move is to outrun their past. It's also a portrait of an America that is almost vanished...and America before globalization, a time when every region had its quirks and personality. Before there had to be a Starbucks and McDonalds and Wallmart everywhere. And it's a paean to the pre-catalytic converter era of cars-when muscle cars roamed the land: Cameros, Chargers, GTOs, Barracudas, Mustangs, Firebirds...if you're a gear head(I'm talking to YOU, MissMelanie!), you will LOVE this movie just for the car and racing footage. But don't think just because it's existentialist, the movie's all dark and dour. No, there's plenty of humour...Warren Oates is especially funny, and even though the dialogue is sparse, what is said is eminently quotable. What the movie especially gets right is the behavior of real people. You never get the sense you are watching actors "act", but of people just behaving. It also captures, in the relationship between James and Dennis, that type of close friendship you have with someone where you are comfortable enough with each other to be quiet. Which is another aspect I love about this movie...the poetic quietness it achieves, which is ironic considering it's about the car racing culture. Beautiful soundtrack, too...the Doors, Kris Kristofferson, Arlo Guthrie. Depending on how big a city you live in, it's doubtful you'll get a chance to see "Two-Lane Blacktop" in a theatre, but there's a great Criterion DVD edition that you can rent, buy or put on your Netflix queue. If you liked "Easy Rider", give TLB a shot...I think you'll like it; maybe even be moved by it. Here's the opening ten minutes of the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZez1NS7Ptk The second film screened Thursday night, "Ride in the Whirlwind", is a western Monte directed in 1965 for Roger Corman. It's most notable for being written by, and starring a young Jack Nicholson. Jack and his cowhand buddies get mistaken for bandits and hunted by vigilantes. Harry Dean Stanton also appears. If you like westerns, it's worth renting, if only to see Jack and Harry Dean before they became well-known.

I wouldn't call Geraldo Rivera a "journalist" per se...he's more of a ham.

I've gotta say that I'm with Swede on this matter. Not that "Who's Next" is a bad album; I liked it when it came out and still do to a certain point. But like LZ IV, radio played it to death, and so I can only stand to listen to it occasionally, and I prefer the tracks "My Wife", "Bargain" and "Going Mobile" to warhorses such as "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". Not a big fan of the rock operas "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia", and the less said about stuff like "Squeeze Box", the better. And anyone who prefers the Who of the 80's and beyond needs their head examined. No, when I think of the Who, and go to put some on my stereo, it's the classic 60's mod-style Who I reach for...everything up to and including "The Who Sell Out". That's the stuff that will always sound timeless and fresh to me..."The Kids Are Alright"..."Happy Jack"..."Tattoo"..."I Can't Explain"..."Pictures of Lily"..."Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"..."Substitute"...and on and on. Oh, and in case you haven't heard the news... Roger Daltrey taking "Tommy" on North American tour Thu May 12, 2011 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Who" frontman Roger Daltrey is taking the British band's 1969 rock opera "Tommy" on a six-week North American tour beginning in September, concert promoters said on Thursday. Daltrey, 67, will perform the album in its entirety, using visuals to accompany classic songs like "Pinball Wizard," "See Me, Feel Me" and "The Acid Queen." His bandmate Pete Townshend, who wrote the music and lyrics to the tale of the "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes a messiah, has given Daltrey his blessing but will not be taking part. "I will be there in spirit. Roger has my complete and most loving support," Townshend said in a statement. The tour of the United States and Canada kicks off in Hollywood, Fla., on September 13 and follows Daltrey's performance of the album in London in March. It is at this point that I would like to thank Led Zeppelin for not turning into the Who...or as they should be called now, the half-a-Who.

Just put on The Drag Queen of New Orleans...sbd from the May 14, 1973 New Orleans show...38 years ago tonight.

OH MY EFFIN' GOD! That is hilarious...that kid's a future hockey player. Or he will end up in a bar band playing Nightranger and Winger songs. And I realize it's easy to say in hindsight...but there's no way I would I would've thought that was really you.

The latest issue of Uncut(a British music magazine) also has a Bob Dylan cover story: Uncut Bob Dylan 70th Birthday issue There's 4 different Bob covers you can get...below is one of them.

Well, I'm going to show my age here... This is SOOOO FREAKING AWESOME! Thank you planted...I owe you big time, as you've helped to clear my foggy memory. You see, I saw Elvis Presley 4 times in the 70's, and I thought Elvis had mentioned Led Zeppelin being in the audience at one of the shows; but was confused about whether it was at the 1973 or 1974 show. Now, I know for sure...it was May 11, 1974, 37 years ago today. Hmmmmm, time sure flies. I couldn't believe it when Elvis mentioned that Led Zeppelin was in attendance at the show...my head immediately started spinning like it was on a swivel stick, trying to locate them. By the way, Elvis was still pretty good at this stage. It wasn't until I saw him in 1976 that you could see the decline; he was fat and sweaty then. But the time I saw him in 1972(Long Beach) was the best of all 4 Elvis Presley concerts I attended. Having seen concerts at both the Rose Palace and the Santa Monica Civic, I can only imagine how loud the sound must have been at a Led Zeppelin show at these venues. There doesn't seem to be ANY tapes of these shows, which I find puzzling, since by this point in time, Led Zeppelin was building a buzz through the concert scene. Has anyone else heard of either the Rose Palace or the Santa Monica Civic shows being taped/booted ever?